Posted by Sharon Cece on December 29th, 2008
The great thing about going to college today is the nearly infinite number of choices students have in attaining and experiencing their educations. From local community colleges to world-wide programs, the sky’s the “un”-limit.
I was fortunate in that I was able to attend college both locally and out-of-state. While I highly recommend doing both–or all, for I wish I had also attended college internationally (and who knows, still might)– students must also make pragmatic choices that serve their specific needs and life situations. Single students have more flexibility than married, full-time students have more intense scheduling issues than part-timers, etc.
Here is where online learning offers it’s greatest benefit: unlimited program options. Before online alternatives, as suggested above, one either had to attend school at a local college or completely transfer out-of-state. I did both, which were invaluable experiences. Yet, once I was married with kids I couldn’t just pick up and move back to Tallahassee to finish my degree. Therefore, “college online” satisfied all of my educational needs and brought the out-of-state right to my front door. What a concept.
That’s not to say locality wasn’t an important consideration for me. Initially I did lean toward local schools since those programs are always more cost-effective. Out-of-state students, even online, usually pay twice as much as local students. An added benefit to local colleges are the extra-curricular events, concerts, lectures and programs that are accessible to students; obviously, I couldn’t attend any of those as a distance learning student and so missed out on the experiences they offered. On the other hand, I did take advantage of those events and programs while I was a student living in Tallahassee, and so when I returned as on online student to get my degree years later I had a singular goal in mind–graduating! The other benefits were secondary at that point in my life, and financial aid and academic grants assisted me with the higher out-of-state fees.
Choices today are as varied as the many programs offered to students. It’s a great time to go to college!
Posted by Sharon Cece on October 28th, 2008
Discipline is the key to any success in life, but especially in regard to an online education. For those attending college on campus, degree seekers receive notices to arrive at campus locations where information is provided immediately by a campus representative. Books are purchased in line at the bookstore, student fees are paid at the Bursar’s office, and social activity takes place en route to any of these destinations in addition to the Student Union. Coursework is learned in classrooms according to the university’s and the professor’s schedule. Discipline of course is required; however, guidance and information are more easily obtained and identified on campus comparable to the online milieu.
Online learning is a wonderful and innovative way to obtain your degree, and certainly the primary benefit is flexibility. Yet, success occurs most often when flexibility on one end is pared closely with discipline on the other. Since specific schedules are not set by the professor, the student must set them and be diligent in keeping up with the coursework and classroom discussions and virtual class participations. Financial aid as well as billing is handled exclusively online, and while this is convenient it sometimes requires a bit of e-sleuthing to locate the information and websites you are seeking. Often there are no reminders of testing and projects ongoing as might happen in a campus classroom; for this reason the student’s best friend is a good planner.
The first semester online can be a bit daunting, as the student will discover that much of the information must be located online and with perhaps a bit more work than just walking into a building and asking questions. It takes time to learn to navigate “Blackboard”, the e-Education platform, as well as the threaded discussions and virtual classrooms. However, after the first semester or two, the student finds he or she becomes quite adapt at online navigation. The technology can be challenging but is also very exciting and opens the student to a new world of learning. One college graduate, Francesca, shares this experience:
“My college had more and more distance learning. Having had done it, I say that it is actually harder in some subjects. It is accelerated and a lot of the learning is your own understanding of the discipline. If the discipline is one you are interested in - like psychology - then you do well. If it is statistics, then some on campus or tutoring can help. My son does distance learning with MIT and now they have chat rooms and the teacher may have a web CAM and you can see her and if you have CAM they can see you. Sometimes the teacher has a white board and can draw diagrams for the class. It’s really neat. In any and all events, you have to have discipline, discipline, discipline”.
For the student who wants to attend college but needs more flexibility than the campus can offer, online learning is a wonderful alternative. Discipline in study and scheduling will ensure the success that is necessary to complete curriculum goals.
